Purple Haze

Jacaranda trees are in bloom all over the valley. In some neighborhoods there are some many that for a distance you see a purple haze over the area. These trees are a little marginal here in the Valley because of our occasional hard freezes but this year they are doing particularly well. Whne we say "The Valley" we mean the Valley of the Sun, an old nickname for the Phoenix area. As in the old advertising slogan, "the Valley of the Sun where Summer comes to Winter". This is in a nearby yard.


The olallieberry's one berry was eaten by birds, as feared. In reaction, I plucked the only two aprium a bit early and ate them. They were not dead ripe, a bit crisp, but still sweet and tasty.

The citrus trees are doing their fruit drop. It's always sad to see the tiny citrus fruit on the ground but they could not possibly bear all the fruit that they set. It's time for citrus fertilizer application. I try to remember by the holiday - Valentine's Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day.

I changed the watering schedule once again. Instead of lots of water every few days, I am giving a little water three times a day, like the containers. I'm hoping to prevent more die off of zucchinis. After all the planters are just like big containers and I've read that for container vegetables, consistent even water and not too much is best.

I've pulled out most of the remaining winter vegetables - the kohlrabi, collards and so on. We had delicious white bean stew with greens and garlic. Lots of greens. The chard in the garden is still doing well so I left it in. I've never particularly liked Bright Lights Chard in the grocery store, it just looks strange to me, but in the garden the different colors really glow. And it tastes fine.

I just discovered that someone has added a Seasonal Desert Gardening Calendar to Google Calendar - Thanks! I was thinking of doing that myself. I can't see how to contact the calendar creator however so I can't send a message in thanks.


The ocotillo and chitalpa tree in the front yard are in bloom. The chitalpa blooms almost year round, except winter.